Resilient mounting for phonographs



Aug. 29, 1950 D. C. ROCKOLA RESILIENT MOUNTING FOR PHONOQRAPHS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed Sept. 26, 1946 INVENTOR. JMCW Aug. 29, 1950 n. c. ROCKOLA RESILIENT MOUNTING FOR PHONOGRAPHS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. as, 1946 IN VEN TOR. $9M 6% BY Patented Aug. 29, 1950 RESILIENT MOUNTINGFOR PHONOGBABHS David C. Rockola, Chicago, 11L, assignpr, by

mosno i n ents to nook-.Qlo i anrieeiu i s oration, C o .F lfp qn of Delaware This invention relates in general to phono- -graphs, and more particularly tonovel means for supporting and mounting the operating mechanism in the casing or cabinet of a phonograph.

In a multi-reeord phonograph, such as that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 5x11591334 issued May 23, 1939 to Paul H. Smyth, ..Jr., the operating mechanism, which includes means for movinga selected or desired record onto a rotatable turntable and into playing position, means for rotating the turntable, and ,rneans for playing or re-producing the record, is mounted. in an outer casing or cabinet upon a chassis or frame, commonly-referred to as a motor board. In U. S. LettersPaten-t No. 2.311922 issued March 13, 1945 to William H. .Hutten a =multi-part frame for supporting the. several parts of the operating mechanism is substituted for tlieinotor board of the Smyth machine, and resilient means are employed to inter-connect the "different parts Of the frame, and to monntthe Same in the cabinet, which have different periods -of-vibration to damp out vibrations which would normally be transmitted fromone part of the machine to the other. In the more recent types of automatic p-honographs, one wall of the cabzinet, preferably the front wall, has-had a door substituted for it which is mountedonsa .vertical pivot. This arrangement is desirable to ,provide ready access to the whole of the interior of the cabinet forpurposesof record changing and repairing; of the operating mechanism. In order to use such an arrangement, however, it is necessary to provide a new type of structure for ,sunporting the operating mechanism in the cab- .inet.

A principal object of the instant inventionis to provide an improved-type of resilient mounting, for .sucporting the operating,mechanism ,of

an automatic phonograph within'an outer calo- 1 .inet, particularly a ,cabinet having .a doorjorm- .ing one wall thereof.

A further object of the invention is the provision of novel means for supporting the motor board or operating mechanismsupportin ,structure .1 three walls of an enclosing cabinet, which comprises a pair of parallel members each secured at one end to one of said .WallS and adjacent the other end to the remaining opposite walls. respectively, and stabilizing. means interconnecting said .other en ds.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel spring mounting means interposedbetween the motor board andthe parallel members of s ch supporting means. whi h compris s a plu- .rality o s nner .oo zl os on s ring evie a ed ro eoohe b an ind vid al an a9- Q r tely adjus able t qifi ron a d "var abl l a ess-of om re ion-to com n at o the EP- even distribution of weight of the operatin imecb nismon the moto boa d s asto 1 5 .3 ,tain the .motor board level.

A lfurtherpbject ofthe invention is the prov ion each s compres io sp i devi .ofadditionallo kme.m an t f r ma nt inin th desired degree .;.of compression therein.

Anoth ob ct of t i vention i t Provid normall inono o i o m mb r as ate ea h-of a dr relhl members which r a e e l t s persede the pring mountin andv s dly-co noo th met rboard to d e .oni or iiaa-t avo ns ition t p even relatine movementhetween the motorboard and -.oab.i et te porarily dur n t ansportati o the rb n ah' ,Qt'ner objeots ofthe inventionrelate to vari- .ons featnres. of construction and arrangementof ran -w ic i be appare t m a consideratio o T the follow ng ific ion and accompan .Jooa fl innorma erative position; a

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view similar to FigQQ sh wing thernotorpoard rigidly connected t9 the cabinet in travellin positionl fieferring more particularly to the drawings, t he ,operating mechanism of the phonograph i ll nstrated is: generally of the type disclosed in the previously noted Smyth Patent No. 2,159,834, and the alphabetical reierence characters used "herein are' the same as those employed in said patentand designate similar mechanism. Since this mechanism is described in detail in said patent, a brief and general explanation thereof "will besufiicient herein for a. complete understanding of the present invention.

The phonograph comprises an outer casing or cabinet A for accommodating the operating mechanism, which includes record carrying and reproducing devices cooperating to translate the irregularities of a record sound track into mechanical vibrations and to convert the latter into electrical impulses which are supplied to amplifier means and a speaker (not shown herein) for converting the amplified electrical impulses into sound. As shown in Fig. 1, a chassis, including a horizontally disposed panel E, commonly referred to as a motor board, carries a turntable G, record playing or reproducing means H, a record carrier supporting or mounting assembly I, and a plurality of pivoted, ringshaped record carriers or trays J arranged one above another in column or stack relationship and swingable to and from cooperative relationship with the turntable G. Supported from and disposed below the motor board E are a master cam, a motor for driving the same, and a second motor for rotating the turntable G, none of which are shown in the instant drawings. Operation of the phonograph is controlled by coin operated means and record selector control means V, as described in detail in said Smyth patent, through the agency of which the first electric motor is energized to cause rotation of the master cam, the tray J carrying the record selected for playing is swung from its stacked position of Fig. 1 over the turntable G, and the latter is raised through the selected record carrier J to remove the selected record therefrom and to its upper-most position to present the record for engagement by the tone arm H. The

second motor for rotating the turntable B has in the meantime been energized in response to actuation of the master cam, and as the turntable reaches such upper-most playing position,

the master cam driving motor is de-energized.

When the tone arm or reproducer means H reaches the end of the record groove to comreturn the tone arm H to normal or starting position, and after the played record is deposited on its carrier J, the master cam also functions to swing this record carrier back to its normal stacked position. The circuit including the electric motor driving the master cam and that including the motor operating the turntable G are then interrupted to complete the cycle of operations, unless more than one record has been selected for playing, in which case the cycle is repeated until all selected records have been played.

As in the machine of the said Smyth patent, the operating mechanism herein is mounted upon 01 supported from the motor board E, which in turn is resiliently supported within the casing A to prevent the transmission of shocks to the operating mechanism which may be applied externally to the casing. In the present construction, however, the casing A comprises only three vertical walls rigidly secured together,

namely a rear wall 12 and two side walls l3, the

. front of the casing being open and provided with a suitable closure member in the form of a door I 4 hingedly connected at [5 to one of the side walls for swinging movement on a vertical pivot. With such cabinet construction, the motor board mounting means disclosed in the patents previously referred to are not applicable, and the resilient supporting means herein disclosed has been provided to enable the use of this type of cabinet in order to facilitate record-changing and repairing of the operating mechanism.

The mounting panel E of the present machine comprises a metal plate 15 having depending flanges I? at its rear and side edges and an upwardly extending flange l8 along its front edge (Fig. 2) which is resiliently mounted upon and supported by a pair of parallel members It! (Fig. 1) extending from front to rear of cabinet A adjacent the side walls [3. Each of the supporting members 59 is secured, as by means of suitable bolts 2 l, at its rear end to the rear wall [2 of the cabinet. Adjacent its forward end, each of the members H3 is rigidly secured in any suitable manner to a bracket 22 having a horizontally disposed flange 23 resting upon and screwed to a stud member 24 secured in turn in any desired manner to a side wall l3. Each of the brackets 22 terminates in an upper portion extending above the motor board I5 and having a slot 38 provided in its top edge (Figs. 1 and. 2) Reduced end portions of a shouldered tie-rod 25 extending across the open front of the machine are disposed in these slots 30, and suitable nuts screwed onto these end portions of the tie-rod function with the tie-rod as stabilizing means to rigidly secure the front ends of the parallel members 58 together in proper spaced relationship.

Interposed between the parallel supporting members l9 and the motor board or panel [6 are four spring mounting means, indicated generally by reference numeral 26, which are disposed, respectively, adjacent the four corners of the panel [6. Each of the mounting means 25 comprises a lower coil spring 2?, an upper coil spring 28,

a lower threaded, cup-like spring retaining member 29, an intermediate cup-shaped spring retaining member 3|, an upper inverted spring retaining member 32, a bolt 33, and a lock nut 34. As best shown in Fig. 3, the intermediate spring retaining member 3! is provided with a central aperture slidingly engaging the bolt 33 and is cupped to provide an intermediate, vertical wall 35 adapted to extend through a suitable aperture in the motor board It and to frictionally engage within the upper end of the lower coil spring 21. This vertical wall 35 terminates in a horizontally extending shoulder portion 36 which rests upon the motor board it, receives the lower end of the upper coil spring 28, and terminates in an upwardly extending flange 37 for frictionally engaging the outer surface of the lower end of the spring 28. The lower and upper spring retaining members 29 and 32 are provided with similar marginal flange portions for engaging the lower and upper ends, respectively, of the springs 21 and 28. The lower retaining member 29, as previously noted, has a tapped central aperture through which the lower threaded end of the bolt 33 is screwed. This end of the bolt 33 extends downwardly through a suitable aperture in the associated supporting member I9 and is engaged by the lock nut 34.

As will be noted in Fig. 1 and from the previous description herein of the operating mechanism, the weight of the several different parts of the operating mechanism is distributed. unevenly upon and from the motor board E or mounting tween the four corners of the panel 16 and the supporting members therefor, the motor board would not be retained in a level position due to this uneven distribution of the weight of the operating mechanism thereon. With the present arrangement, however, the different bolts 33 of the several mounting means 23 may be tightened or loosened to different, variable degrees relative to their respective spring retaining members 29 to impart different and. variable initial degrees of compression in their associated springs 21 and 23. The uneven distribution of weight of the operating mechanism on the motor board 16 may thus be compensated for by different adjustments of the several spring mounting means 26. The proper adjustments of the several spring mounting means 23 having been determined and set at the factory, the same may be permanently retained therein by tightening of the lock nuts 34 against the under-surfaces of the panel supporting members I9. From the above description, it will be understood that the lower springs 21 resiliently support the mounting board 16 upon the parallel members 19, and the upper springs 28 resist upward movement of the motor board and, together with the lower springs 27, dampen vibrations of the operating mechanism and prevent transmission of shocks thereto which may be applied externally to the cabinet A.

Since it is desired to permanently retain the proper compression settings in the several spring mounting means 23, additional means are provided for superseding these spring mounting means and rigidly connecting the motor board I6 to the parallel members 19 in a travelling position to prevent relative movement between the motor board and the cabinet temporarily during transportation of the phonograph, at which time maximum external shocks will normally be imparted to the cabinet. This means comprises a pair of bolts 38 depending from the motor board 16 adjacent the lateral ends thereof and secured thereto by suitable lock nuts 39. Each of the bolts 38 extends downwardly through a suitable aperture provided in one of the parallel frame members 19 and is provided therebelow with a tapp d operating handle 4| screwed on the lower end thereof. In the normal operating condition of the phonograph, the handles 4| are disposed below and out of engagement with the parallel members Is in the manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. Each of these handles 4| is provided with an upper capped end 42 for engagement with the walls of the aperture in the member 19 through which the bolt 38 extends. The rear and side flanges ll of the motor board l6 are normally disposed in vertically spaced relationship to the parallel members l9, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. screwing of the handles 4| upwardly upon the bolts 38, however, will cause engagement of their capped ends 42 with the parallel members 19 to further compress the lower springs 21 and draw the motor board I6 downwardly to rigidly engage the bottom surfaces of the flanges I! with the parallel members l9, as illustrated in Fig. 5. In

this position, the bolts 38 and handles 4! supersede the spring mounting means 26 and rigidly connect the motor board 13 to the casing of the machine. Consequently, upon delivery of a phonograph to its intended place of use, it is necessary only for the operator to release the two handles 4| by screwing the same downwardly to their positions of Figs. 2 and 4 to condition the machine for operation, the spring mounting means 26 then functioning in their desired manner and having the proper degrees of compression incorporated in each of them, as determined at the factory.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description; and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

A resilient mounting device interposed between a mechanism supporting panel and a member for supporting said panel having vertically aligned apertures therethrough, comprising an intermediate spring guide having a spring engaging portion of larger diameter than one of said apertures and a spring guide portion extending through and engaging the walls of said aperture, a pair of coil springs each having an end engaged by said spring guide, a bolt having a head end and a threaded end extending slidably through said spring guide and freely through the other of said apertures and axially through said springs, a spring guide interposed between the head of said bolt and the other end of one of said springs, a spring guide engaging the other end of the other of said springs and having a central tapped aperture adjustably screwed onto the threaded end of said bolt, and a lock nut on the threaded end of said bolt to clamp said lastrecited spring guide to said supporting member for maintaining the degree of compression set in saidsprings by adjustment of said last-recited spring guide on said bolt.

DAVID C. ROCKOLA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: i

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 22,980 Donkersley et al. Mar. 9, 1948 1,495,933 Farmer June 3, 1924 1,701,396 Summers Feb. 5, 1929 1,881,043 Buwalda Oct. 4, 1932 2,022,285 Hayward Nov. 26, 1935 2,174,209 Genest et a1 Sept. 26, 1939 2,325,807 Stephan Aug. 3, 1943 2,371,522 I-Iutter Mar. 13, 1945 2,407,014 Jones Sept. 3, 1946 2,412,852 Wood Dec. 17, 1946 

